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August 25, 2025
 

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Shoko Oda
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 12, 2018
Open sesame as Kadoya opens second oil factory, maintains market mainstay niche
On a small island known for olives and wild monkeys, Rika Onishi spends her days tasting and sniffing sesame oil. She's one of a small group of Kadoya Sesame Mills Inc. employees who make sure the oil always has the same taste and aroma.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2018
With resignations at NH Foods, has #MeToo finally reached corporate Japan?
The #MeToo movement may have finally made its way to corporate Japan: The president of a blue chip company has resigned after a subordinate he was traveling with made sexually explicit remarks to an airline employee.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2017
Calbee sees granola boom by pitching to Japanese working women
Calbee Inc.'s granola snack had been around for 20 years, with no real change to its recipe or sales. Then a female marketing executive turned things around by pitching the cereal as a time-saver for a growing class of consumers just like her: working mothers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2017
Spud shortage in Japan makes potato chips a hot commodity
Demand for potato chips surged in Japan this week, with products on offer for six times their retail price online after snack maker Calbee Inc. halted the sale of some of its most popular chip brands.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 1, 2017
Hollywood is losing Japan box office to gender-bender tale 'Your Name.'
Move over, Hollywood — Japanese moviegoers are shopping local these days.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 23, 2016
Are bargain burgers quickening Japan's deflationary tailspin?
Fast-food lunches in Japan are starting to get cheaper as consumers look to trim their dining expenses, a worrying sign for the central bank as it tries to bring about inflation.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 17, 2016
Silver gifts to centenarians get cheaper as ranks rise
One perk of getting old in Japan is a gift of a silver cup from the prime minister in the year you celebrate your 100th birthday. But from this year, new centenarians will be sipping sake from cheaper vessels.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2016
Beloved mascot Kumamon's absence since quakes spurs Japan Twitter traffic
Kumamoto mascot Kumamon has been missing in the wake of last week's devastating earthquakes in Kyushu, spurring concern on social media for its safety as well as criticism for the prefectural government's failure to use the furry animal's network to share information.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 15, 2016
Blogger's viral tirade on day care puts Abe on back foot
An anonymous Japanese blogger's tirade about failing to secure a day care place for her child has spurred Prime Minister Shinzo Abe into action.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 29, 2015
Despite labor crunch, Japanese firms slow to accept disabled applicants
Law graduate Yusuke Hatsuse says he thought his college degree and national sports success would make him an attractive recruit for Japan's best-known employers. When none invited him for interviews, he applied for virtually every job he could find.
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
At meeting rich in symbolism, Ishiba and South Korea's Lee agree to steadily build ties
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shake hands at joint press announcement after summit talks in Tokyo on Saturday.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
Japan to boost support for joint ride-hailing services
Tatsuaki Igarashi, mayor of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, exits a ride-sharing vehicle at Tsukuba Station in January.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Is the LDP’s catch-all approach to politics still effective?
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15. Political commentator Toru Hashimoto has suggested that Takaichi ought to lead a group of like-minded hawkish politicians out of the Liberal Democratic Party and form their own party.
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.
As farm minister, Koizumi is held ‘hostage’ by Ishiba
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi (center) attends a Lower House session on Aug. 1. Locking Koizumi into the Cabinet is Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s way of turning a potential rival into a team player, according to one expert.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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